Chrono
by Sarah The Shadow
Summary: After the game, Dave and Karkat pursue a matespritship. However, while the clock still ticks, they cannot rest. Madness, character death (sort of), self harm, autocannibalism in the future.
1. Chronophilia

Tick... Tock... Tick.. Tock...

Your name is Dave Strider, and you're the Knight of Time. The game ended and everyone was brought back to life, though only Earth was restored. The game had spewed out enough money for everyone to live comfortably (along with however many kids they had, and their kids, and their kids... and their kids...), but you still felt as if something was missing. Nothing was missing now, not yet, not at this hour. Five hours, twenty seven minutes, and eighty three point two seconds, that was the time. Sitting up and putting on his shades, Dave ruffled his messy hair. Just a few inches away was Karkat Vantas, an alien from a planet known as Alternia.

Yesterday, he had wandered outside and had been crushed by a tree that the neighbor had foolishly decided to cut down himself. The day before that it had been from choking on his lunch. Last week it had been from a falling vase from a six story building. The shards had cut into his head and the mutant had died from blood lost. What would today be? A slit throat from running with scissors, setting his hair on fire with Jade's curling iron, not understanding what the f*ck a blender is, tripping and getting stuck in an oven, or would Dave be allowed a day of peace? Everyone mostly kept their powers hidden and only used them at home for convenience. Not Dave though, Dave had the wonderful task of resetting time over and over and over again to stop the Knight of Blood from dying. Dave went to take a quick shower before going downstairs to make breakfast. Right before that though, he went to the "secret room" in the backyard. Just in case...

A few minutes later, he heard stumbling and swearing along with the sound of Karkat falling down the stairs. After checking to make sure that the troll hadn't broken his neck (again), Dave took notice of the shirt the smaller alien was wearing. It was just too big on him overall, so... aww, Karkat was wearing his shirt. Upon commenting on it, Dave received an earful of obscenities and a slightly flushed face from the grey-skinned troll. After breakfast, Dave felt a little reluctant to let Karkat out. It wasn't like the human could stop him though, so Dave decided to tag along instead. At least the majority of mistakes he had first made, like letting Karkat get drugged and killed/sold into prostitution/cut up for his organs/all of the above during the first few times. Karkat never seemed to remember any of it though, which was probably for the best.

Dave wasn't a hero. He couldn't save Karkat. Dave could only rewind the clock.

An arcade was an okay place, and Dave could follow Karkat around with the excuse of wanting to play the game next so he could beat the candy-red troll's score. Well, that wasn't that hard anyways... but it worked. Dave briefly scanned the area, seeing John and Vriska immediately run to the Dance Dance Revolution machine while Rose and Kanaya were trying to keep Terezi from licking... absolutely everything. There were only a couple of kids and teens here, and the majority of the older children were talking at the food court.

"HAH! Six hundred and nine points! Beat that, Strider!" Karkat spoke confidently, smirking.

"Sure bro, you suck at these games anyways," Dave sat on the seat that Karkat had climbed off of and began playing, keeping an eye on the other troll. After beating the score by a couple dozen points, he stood. A pissy Karkat was a lot better than a dead one. Dave stuck his hands in his jean pockets, watching as the younger played the game again.

A loud screech and the sound of sparking could be heard before the machine began to tumble and fell on Karkat. It was a quick death- his skull was crushed and still pinkish brains stained the carpet. The reddish color that both defined Karkat and filled him with fear was flowing out and forming large puddles. The yellow eyes that were glazed over with death rolled closer to Dave, bumping into his shoe. Bones had been destroyed easily, despite the fact that they were stronger than any human's. The pungent scent of iron was overpowering, making the human's palms feel sweaty. The entire arcade went silent, staring with a sort of morbid fascination. Dave's eyes, as crimson as the fluids beginning to circle around the cadaver, widened with a sort of familiar trauma.

"No... no, not again, not again, NOT AGAIN!" Dave screamed in horror, "Not again, this isn't happening again, no, please!"

"Dave.. calm down, it'll be okay, we should call an ambulance!" Jade spoke, already knowing that doing such a thing would be folly.

"No, move! I need, I need to-" the Knight of Time ran to the nearest clock, his hand glowing a very faint red before smashing the timepiece. Shards of glass cut into his hand, and he could hear a very faint sound, like water rushing over a waterfall, before everything went white.

Tick... tock.. tick.. tock... tik, tik, tik.

"a..e... Da... Da..e.. Dav.. Dave, Dave, WAKE UP STRIDER!" Karkat screeched into Dave's ear, rousing the human from his temporary entrancement. "I got six-hundred and nine points, nookwhiff."

"Yeah, that's cool. C'mon bro, this is a lame ass game anyways," He pulled the troll away from the machine, going to the smaller ones that had no potential chance of crushing Karkat.

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"  
"That ticking sound, bulgelicker," Karkat scoffed, scratching his ear. That sound was so irritating, and it kept showing up!

"I don't hear anything," Dave spoke with a poker face, not betraying his silent relief of Karkat's return.

"That's because you're half deaf or whatever the f*ck," the troll mumbled, the ticking sticking with him for the rest of the day.

These types of scenes became increasingly familiar for Dave. At least every three days, Karkat would die. A short circuited lamp, a broken shard of glass from a faygo bottle falling down his throat, the ceiling collapsing, a pair of dogs breaking loose and ripping open his intestines, a ceiling fan breaking and decapitating him, even things as ridiculous as being hit in the head too hard with a Wii remote, Karkat died from all of these things. Every time though, Dave rewound the clock. He made a habit of keeping a pocket watch on him at all times, just in case there wasn't a timepiece nearby.

One day though, it didn't stop. Dave rewound it over and over and over and over again.. but Karkat kept dying.

First, he fell off the stairs and landed on a spiked fence. Next, he was run over by a car. After that, a street light fell on top of him. So many deaths, and it just kept going and going and going... The human kept Karkat inside, but it wasn't safe in his own home either. It had been six weeks from Dave's perspective, and he would snatch the troll's hand away every time he came across a potentially lethal household object. Eventually, he kept Karkat in his arms (no more than a foot away from him) and led him to the room Dave had been preparing in the backyard.

White, padded walls surrounded them. Dave didn't want to have to do this... but it was for the best. Poor, little Karkat hasn't been himself lately... all because of some sort of ticking. That ticking made the troll afraid, so very afraid... It was easier this way; it was easier to bind the boy's wings and force him to stay within these safe, soft walls. Dave didn't like it when he had to tie the mutant's wrists and feet together so he wouldn't break his neck, but... this was for the best. This was alright, wasn't it? It was for the troll's own good. Even when Karkat cried, even when he screamed and begged and weakly spoke, voice nothing more than a child's whisper, to be let out and set free; Dave kept him there. It was better this way. Amongst these walls that grew stained with more and more red, it was safe. Karkat may bang his head against the floors and walls to break his skull or try to bite his hands off, but Dave would fix the other's mistakes. There would be no problems anymore. It would be a perfect little haven for them. They would be alright. There wouldn't be any problems anymore. No more death, no more despair, no more clocks that broke and ticked and cut into their entwined hands that bled red, red, red.

Dave ran his fingers through Karkat's raven black hair, noticing how still and silent the troll was when he slept. Or perhaps he wasn't sleeping again? Dave didn't miss the quivering that occurred when he brushed his fingers underneath the bags under the troll's eyes. The mutant wasn't dying or trying to run away, nor was he attempting to fight back against his captor-turned-savior. Quietly, the human murmured declarations of love, telling his flightless songbird how foolish it was to attempt to leave. Nothing could go wrong here that wasn't just Karkat being stubborn or ridiculous. The troll was still now, not moving under Dave's calm and firm touch. He was so relaxed and death-like... it must have been a kind of happiness. For the first time in a long while, Dave smiled.

Welcome to my Paradise.


	2. Chronophobia

Tick... tock... tick... tick... tick...

In moments between waking and dreaming, Karkat thinks that his time has run out. His days are filled with emptiness, his eyes just as barren, and a will lacking in both. With his hands bound and tied together, he briefly wonders if he could break out of them. Maybe use them to escape. The troll uses his sharper nails to cut through one link and then took the makeshift rope. When he shakily ties it around his neck and increases the restraint more and more, he wonders if he ever had any time in the first place.

Tick... tick... tick...

He absolutely hates that infernal ticking. At first, it was nothing but a mere annoyance. It has grown louder and louder and louder and louder and TICK TICK TICK. The noise seems to intensify whenever Dave is around, but the Knight makes everything alright. Despite the fact that he wants to vomit and spew his guts all over the soft walls, he's alright. After all, Dave says that everything is okay. The person who's been helping him, calming him, protecting him even though he can't see anyone else anymore and the light is too bright now and oh gog the ticking is back. His thoughts are abruptly shut off like the lights that offer the only source of luminance in the room. The fact that Karkat was a troll made no difference; there was absolutely no light in the room now. He can't help but feel afraid by that, the feeling of utter helplessness. To cope with it, he recites the conversations between his friends. Every single one, even the embarrassing ones about Terezi, the awkward ones with Eridan, the soothing ones with John, but when he thinks of Dave... Karkat abruptly shuts up. No one could hear him scream in here, except Dave. Dave was always there, always knew things, knew everything, knew too much. A wave of submissiveness filled him, and the troll wonders why he no longer objects to the feeling. What was the point of screaming if no one could hear him? Why bother if no one knew he was there? Did anyone miss him? Did anyone even remember him? The last rhetorical question made him pause. Of course someone remembered him. The stupid Strider did, and that was enough. He was always there, and would always be there for Karkat. As long as Dave was there, Karkat would never be alone... Normally stuffy air turned heavy and crushing, making it hard to breathe. It felt like he had run out of oxygen and everything around him was already dark. The suffocation, asphyxiation, strangulation, made it so much harder to think and he couldn't breathe! Karkat's hands reached up to his throat, clawing at the ashen grey skin. Candy red blood that he could only feel began to thicken and slick his nails, making them slippery and harder to use. Eventually, the mutant finds that he can no longer scream. The metallic scent and taste fills his senses, crimson liquid melding with his flesh as if becoming part of the skin and veins once more. Karkat briefly wonders if this should be hurting more, but thinks nothing more of it as his mind goes completely blank.

Tick... tick... tick...

He's being held again, warm and safe in Dave's arms. Safe? He isn't quite so sure about that anymore. Karkat counts the minutes by the amount of ticking he can hear. What was time again? Such a thing felt just out of his reach, as if the door to freedom was right in front of him before being cut in half. The troll wondered if this was worth crying over, this fear, this security, this... fire. Their relationship was like fire, like ice. Due to that, Karkat didn't scream when Dave pressed their lips together.

Tick... Tick... Tick...

Somewhere along the way, he wonders if he's misplaced his "tock". The hand that caresses Karkat's cheek is both a shield and a sword. One could not break from a blade's pierce, the other would destroy any protection. It was such a strong contradiction that he wondered if that was what if felt like to be a human. Not knowing what exactly what was what, who was superior to whom, not knowing what your place was... the mutant thought that was what his situation was like now. If this was humanity, he would pity Dave even more. But didn't the other say that his place was by Karkat's side? He feels that he can no longer understand. The ticking is growing louder and louder again. The troll hit his head against the padded walls, continuing until his skull split in half. Feeling your head being bruised, being disoriented for great amounts of time, and feeling the lifeblood that made you a monstrosity coat your face isn't a nice way to go. It's still a death though, and a peace...

Tick... Tick... Tick...

Karkat can no longer think with the ticking ringing in his ears so strongly, it's a wonder they haven't started bleeding. Waking hours are both a blessing and a torture. While dreaming allowed him peace and unmonitored serenity, he was granted a degree of control while awake. The human was the only one who he ever saw anymore. Was there ever anyone else? Asleep, he feels like a name is on the tip of his tongue. G.. G-Ga... Gam? Was that one? Pet? Lux? Maybe some combination of all three? Perhaps there was never anyone in the first place. Karkat would think about it if he was able to; he can't though. His internal clock keeps tick, tick, ticking away any possible electronic brainwaves that could lead to hearing a voice, anyone's voice, inside his head. The troll blankly registers someone touching him and bringing him into something warm that didn't feel like flesh. It isn't as thick as... as... what was the thing that was inside of him again? For some reason, he felt like at one point he was afraid of what was inside of him. Why would he be afraid? The clear thing that felt so warm took the other liquid off of his skin. It turned a color, the color re- r- re- tick tick tick goes the clock.

"It's okay, Karkat. I'll make everything all better," black shades and a hand he can't exactly feel drags him beneath the water. A vision of a butterfly briefly stops the ticking, and Karkat thinks. If it had to go farther away, it would become a bird.

Tick... Tick... Tick...

A tourniquet would be nice. Something to stop the pouring flow of life that continuously rolled away in tsunamis from intangible and indescribable wounds. Perhaps a syringe injecting color into his veins once more could stop it. This monochrome felt too familiar. The bright bright red felt comforting, red like the substance that sluggishly pumped around, red like the shade of "his" shirt, red like the hue of "his" eyes. Biting at his exposed skin, he painted the walls and floors with that red red red. For a fraction of a moment, a spark returned to his eyes. This was familiar. Who used to do this? Why did it fill him with relief and fear? Karkat placed a hand over the bite marks and lacerations, watching with subdued eyes as the heartbeat laying just beneath his fingertips started to slow.

Tick... Tick... Tick...

The mutant's fingers twitched. Robotically, they brushed the dark circles just underneath his eyes. He felt the soft skin with a muted fascination before reaching in with his nails. Acute pain filled him before he ripped out the sensory organ. It was squishy and soft... Karkat's index finger and thumb ran along the cord that once attached the foreign thing to him. Back to the main part, he poked it. It was all wet and kind of sticky, like those things that a person used to play with. Who was that person? He had something to prove that the person was there except for their name and face. He crushed the part of him beneath his fingers, curiously rubbing his fingers together after it popped. Oh, didn't he have another one of those things?... In the same way, Karkat pulled out his eye. He couldn't see anyways, why did he have eyes? Well, he didn't anymore. The troll put his eyeball in the palm of his hand, poking the object as if it were some unknown creature. He was much more gentle this time. It felt like something... something he was supposed to swallow. What was that action called again? He couldn't recall. Karkat raised the bloody object to his mouth, tasting its coppery flavor. How peculiar... it was somewhat salty, moist, and felt strange while traveling down his throat.

Tick... Tick... Tick...

Dave was yelling. He never raised his voice in front of Karkat, being the only influence on the others mockery of a life. He wriggled away from the crimson walls and curled into the corner, words that he couldn't recall the meaning to flying away from his mouth. This seems to surprise and please the human. No one else would be able to see behind what some would call a facade, but Karkat could. He had the time. Time. What was that? Whatever it was, he didn't like it. He couldn't think that though because the words Karkat said seemed to make Strider more interested in shoving his tongue down the troll's throat.

He couldn't fight back, why would he? What was this "dying" that Dave talked about? What was "life"? Karkat feels that he has reached a point somewhere inbetween the two, not leaning towards either side. Like a clock stuck at 12. Tick, tick, tick. He was going nowhere fast. This was nowhere. This was the only place. Nothing existed beyond this point. He would forever be here, always exist here.

I am no one, and I am immortal.


End file.
